Salt & Pepper

As the weather has taken a turn for the worse over the last few days, I’m sharing one of my favourite soup recipes. This is something I thought I would miss as a vegan; however the change from dairy cream to rice or soy makes no difference to cooking and tastes just as delicious. The fried mushroom garnish is optional; it’s also lovely topped with croutons and fresh parsley.

“This recipe is for one of my favourites, Thai Green curry. It’s hard to find vegan Thai pastes as so many of them contain fish sauce, but its super quick to make a homemade paste yourself. I like this dish served with brown rice, but you can have it with white rice or even noodles. Just bear in mind cooking times when making them alongside the sauce. You can also make extra paste if you wish and freeze it in an ice cube tray, then you can just add the cubes to the dish from frozen. You can even use the paste for Thai soups.”

Who would have believed that the humble beetroot would be recognised as a super food?

Beetroot’s deep, overpoweringly red juice has earned it the reputation as the most bossy of vegetables.
Although the leaves have always been eaten, historically the beet root was generally used medicinally for a range of ailments, including fevers, constipation and skin problems.

Beetroot is a good source of iron and folate (naturally occuring folic acid). It also contains nitrates, betaine, magnesium and other antioxidants (notably betacyanin).More info on the NHS Choices website.

This week’s recipe from Jodie is a classic filo parcel. Give it a go and enjoy a Meat Free Monday (or super food Sunday!)

This is a quick and super tasty recipe that is a firm favourite of my mothers. I’ve included a vegan ‘slaw too but you can serve this with any side of your choice. I also like it with simple herby new potatoes and a green salad.

Paella is without a doubt my favourite rice dish. It’s so versatile and goes with pretty much every vegetable out there.

This dish, like most of my recipes, is easily adaptable depending on your preferences. This is one of my favourite versions, it just looks so beautiful, and the almonds and artichokes are a delicious combination.

In other news – it’s still Veganuary! Lots of people took the plunge to give a vegan diet a go for a New Year’s resolution this year. If you’re stuck for recipes or motivation, head over to their site for even more delicious recipes and inspiration. That ‘Really Hungry Burger‘ is surely able to make anyone’s mouth water?

An article in the Guardian this week states that “curbing the world’s huge and increasing appetite for meat is essential to avoid devastating climate change, according to a new report. But governments and green campaigners are doing nothing to tackle the issue due to fears of a consumer backlash, warns the analysis from the thinktank Chatham House.”

Most people think that transport is the biggest greenhouse gas producing industry but the global livestock industry actually produces more greenhouse gas emissions than all cars, planes, trains and ships combined! Anyway, here’s a tasty Japanese dish you can try – no meat but oodles of flavour.

Hi – Jodie here with this week’s recipe, although World Vegan Month is over now, I’ll carry on sharing some recipes for a bit 🙂

As a family we have all collectively spent a lot of time in Morocco and are always bringing back authentic recipes and spices to recreate our favourite dishes at home. This recipe is my take on a vegan tagine.

With a tagine you do not necessarily need the authentic dish in order to cook this, a large saucepan and lid will work just as well, or an oven proof dish and lid, cook and prep time will not vary depending on chosen dish.

Perhaps we’ll start to see vegan tagine appearing on a high street near you soon? Apparently catering for the ‘plant curious’ is becoming big business.

This week’s recipe is by far my favourite variations of the classic lasagne. It has the most wonderful textures from the walnuts and lentils together and is beautiful with a simple side such as garlic green beans or a simple salad. As usual this dish can be adapted slightly to your personal tastes. You could even replace the pasta with leek strips if you’re on a low carb diet.

Speaking of which – the results of yet another study – picked up by all mainstream media yesterday – showed, a diet change alone can prevent and even reverse type 2 diabetes. Vegetarian diets have repeatedly and consistently showed the best results in terms of diabetes prevention and a vegan diet has been the most effective in the management and treatment of diabetes. Many people all around the world changed their lives for the better by following a plant based diet. (more…)

This week’s recipe is really quick and simple, and one of my favourite treats.

For me it doesn’t get much better than a home-made curry.

“The first curry recipe in Britain appeared in The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse in 1747. The first edition of her book used only black pepper and coriander seeds for seasoning of “currey”. By the fourth edition of the book, other ingredients such as turmeric and ginger were called for. The use of hot spices was not mentioned, which reflected the limited use of chili in India — chili plants had only been introduced into India around the late 15th century and at that time were only popular in southern India.” From Wikipedia

Zero Carbonista

This blog is about answers to the big questions - how will we keep the lights on, what kind of cars will we drive (will we drive?) and how will we feed ourselves - in a post oil world, and a world where we can't afford to keep burning things and throwing things away. Energy, Transport and Food are the three big issues.